“He’s honest but you gotta watch him.”

Chico Marx says that about Harpo in “A Day at the Races.”

If I had followed a lobbyist’s advice today, people would have said of me, “He’s for the bill but you gotta watch him.”

The lobbyist, whom I respect, asked me about a bill I have co-sponsored.

“Are you going to vote for it?” this person asked.

“Of course, it’s important to many of my constituents,” I replied.

“Can you ask members of the committee that has the bill not to vote for it?”

“Absolutely not. I’m not going to work both ends against the middle.”

Harpo once burned a candle at both ends. But he’s not an elected official.

If you’re for a bill, you want it to pass. If you act otherwise, people are watching.